Name: electrical current and electron drift
Uploaded: 2023-04-30T12:38:36.000Z
Duration: 1 min 19 s
Channel: JoVE

K12 Standards

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North Carolina K-12 Science Standard Course of Study

9-12

Physical Science

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Motion and Stability- Forces and Interactions

PS.PSc.6.2

Drift Velocity

Free electrons in a conductor travel in random paths and collide with other electrons and particles.
In an electric field, the randomly moving electrons gradually drift in the direction opposite to the applied electric field.
Thus, the average velocity of free-charged particles in a material due to an electric field is known as the drift velocity. It is the ratio of the current in a conductor to the product of the concentration of charged particles, the magnitude of charge of each particle, and the cross-sectional area of the conductor. The SI unit of drift velocity is meters per second.
Consider a copper wire with a diameter of 1 mm. What would be the mean drift velocity of the electrons in the wire when a current of 10 A passes through it?
To begin, calculate the density of free electrons in the copper wire. The number of free electrons in copper equals the number of copper atoms per cubic meter. Second, compute the cross-sectional area of the wire.
By rearranging, and substituting the terms, the drift velocity can be determined. The negative sign indicates that the charges move in the opposite direction to the conventional current.

drift velocity

The high speed of electrical signals results from the fact that the force between charges acts rapidly at a distance. Thus, when a free charge is forced into a wire, the incoming charge pushes other charges ahead due to the repulsive force between like charges. These moving charges move the charges farther down the line. The density of charge in a system cannot easily be increased, so the signal is passed on rapidly. The resulting electrical shock wave moves through the system at nearly the speed of light. To be precise, this fast-moving signal, or shock wave, is a rapidly propagating change in the electrical field. Good conductors have large numbers of free charges. In metals, the free charges are free electrons. The distance that an individual electron can move between collisions with atoms or other electrons is quite small. The electron paths thus appear nearly random, like the motion of atoms in a gas. But there is an electrical field in the conductor that causes the electrons to drift in the opposite direction (opposite to the field, since they are negatively charged). The average velocity of the free charges is known as the drift velocity and is represented in meters per second. Drift velocity is quite small, in the order of 10&#8722;4 m/s, since there are so many free charges. Free-electron collisions transfer energy to the atoms of the conductor. The electrical field does work in moving the electrons over a distance, but that work does not increase the kinetic energy of the electrons.
The charges of the moving particles may be positive or negative depending on the type of material. In metals, the moving charges are negative (electrons), while in an ionized gas (plasma), the moving charges may include both electrons and positively charged ions. In the case of a semiconductor like silicon, conduction is partly by electrons and holes. Holes are some vacancy sites of missing electrons, which act like positive charges. The conventional current is treated as a flow of positive charges, regardless of whether the free charges in the conductor are positive, negative, or both; whereas, in a metallic conductor, the moving charges are electrons, but the current still points in the direction of positive charges would flow.

The high speed of electrical signals results from the fact that the force between charges acts rapidly at a distance. Thus, when a free charge is forced ...

Education

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Physics

Unit 1

Current and Resistance

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

electrical current and electron drift

Electrical current in a conductor depends on moving charges and the tiny drift speed of those charges. When a free charge enters a wire, it pushes nearby charges ahead because like charges repel each other. That push spreads through the material very quickly, so the electrical signal moves through the system at nearly the speed of light.

This fast signal is not the same as the slow motion of each charge. It is a rapidly spreading change in the electric field, often described as an electrical shock wave. In a good conductor, there are many free charges available to carry that change along.

In metals, the free charges are free electrons. Each electron moves only a short distance before colliding with atoms or other electrons, so its path looks almost random. An electric field in the conductor gives the electrons a net drift in the direction opposite the field, because electrons are negatively charged.

The average speed of these free charges is called drift velocity. It is measured in meters per second and is very small, often around 10^-4 m/s, because so many free charges are present. Collisions transfer energy to the atoms of the conductor. The electric field does work on the electrons, but that work does not increase their kinetic energy.

The moving charges can be different in different materials. In metals, the charges are electrons. In an ionized gas, or plasma, the moving charges can include both electrons and positively charged ions. In a semiconductor such as silicon, conduction happens partly through electrons and holes, which are empty sites where electrons are missing and that act like positive charges.

Conventional current is treated as the flow of positive charge. This rule is used even when the real moving charges are negative, positive, or both. So in a metallic conductor, electrons move one way, but the current is still drawn in the direction that positive charges would move.

Electrical Current and Electron Drift

electrical current

Current Flow in Simple Circuits

Electrical current is the flow of charge in a circuit. A large current means a large amount of charge moves through a wire in a short time. A small current means only a small amount of charge moves through the circuit over a longer time. Examples include the current needed to run a refrigerator and the smaller current used by a handheld calculator. The SI unit for current is the ampere, or amp. It is named for the French physicist André-Marie Ampère (1775–1836). One ampere means one coulomb of...

Electrical current in a conductor depends on moving charges and the tiny drift speed of those charges. When a free charge enters a wire, it pushes nearby charges ahead because like charges repel each other. That push spreads through the material very quickly, so the electrical signal moves through the system at nearly the speed of light. This fast signal is not the same as the slow motion of each charge. It is a rapidly spreading change in the electric field, often described as an electrical...

current density

Current Density in Wires and Solutions

Current density describes how much electric current passes through a given cross-sectional area. It helps show not just the size of the current, but also how it is distributed through a conductor. The current density can change from point to point because the local charge flow can vary. If the current flow is uniform, the amount of current is the same at every point along the conductor, even when the conductor’s area changes. Current density is measured in amperes per square meter. Its...

resistivity

Resistivity in Conductors and Insulators

Resistivity describes how much a material opposes electric current. When a voltage is applied to a conductor, an electric field forms. The charges in the conductor feel that force, and a current density develops. In some materials, including metals at a given temperature, the current density is approximately proportional to the electric field. In those cases, current density can be modeled with conductivity, written as sigma. Electrical conductivity is measured in (ohm·m)^−1. It tells how well...

resistance

Factors That Affect Electrical Resistance

Electrical resistance describes how much a conductor opposes the flow of current. It is represented by R. When current passes through a conductor, heat is also produced. Resistance is tied to the material’s resistivity, which is a property of the material used to make an electrical component. Resistance is different from resistivity. Resistivity belongs to the material itself, while resistance belongs to the finished component. To study this relationship, consider a wire with length L,...

ohm's law

Measuring Current, Voltage, and Resistance

Ohm's law describes the relationship between current, voltage, and resistance in many materials. In these cases, the current through a substance is directly proportional to the voltage applied to it. The idea was first shown experimentally by German physicist Georg Simon Ohm, who studied current in a metal wire. A material, component, or device that follows this pattern is called ohmic. An ohmic component has a current that increases in step with voltage. A material or component that does not...

non-ohmic devices

Diode Current and Reverse Bias

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electrical power

Power Limits in Electrical Circuits

Electrical power in a circuit depends on current and voltage. It is the product of these two values and is measured in watts, or joules per second. That relationship helps explain how much energy a circuit can deliver. A car’s auxiliary power outlet is one real-world example. Some outlets are rated at 20 amps and 12 volts, so they can deliver a maximum of 240 watts. That rating shows the upper limit of power the circuit can provide to devices such as a cell phone charger. Bulb wattage also...

electrical energy

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Current density at a boundary changes when two conducting materials have different electrical conductivities. The normal component of current density stays continuous across the interface. The tangential component, which runs along the surface, becomes discontinuous across the boundary. Consider two conducting media with conductivities σ1 and σ2 separated by an interface. At point P1 in medium 1, the steady current density makes an angle α1 with the normal. At point P2 in medium 2, the current...

electrical conductivity

Resistance and Ohm's Law in Conductors

Resistance and Ohm's law help explain how electric current moves through a conductor. In a perfect conductor, the electric field inside is zero because free electrons move to cancel it. Any extra charge then stays on the surface. In a practical conductor, an applied electric field can remain in place. That field drives electrons through the material and creates a current. The current density, which is current per unit area, is related to the electric field. More generally, it is related to the...

theory of metallic conduction

Electron Drift in Metallic Conduction

Electron drift in metallic conduction explains how free electrons move through a conductor. A classical model can describe this motion closely, even though quantum mechanics gives the best overall picture. This model is called the theory of metallic conduction. In this theory, Newton's second law is used to find the acceleration of an electron when an electric field is applied. The electron's velocity is then found from that acceleration. The electron travels through a crystal of positive ions...

key terms and concepts

Learn how electrical current travels through conductors, why electron drift is slow, and how metals, plasma, and semiconductors carry charge.

Electrical Current and Electron Drift | JoVE K12

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JoVE Core Physics introduces the theory and application of fundamental physics topics, including kinematics, dynamics, fluid mechanics, statics, waves, and acoustics, with concise and easy-to-understand animated videos. Additionally, the scientist-in-action videos demonstrate the application of related concepts in classical and original research experiments performed in today's laboratories worldwide.

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Energy

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PS.9

PS.9.b

PS.9.c

PH.8

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Alabama Course of Study Science

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Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

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Electrical Current and Electron Drift

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